


Iris` plan

by Lady_Psychedelic



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 05:11:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15879219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Psychedelic/pseuds/Lady_Psychedelic
Summary: Iris has a plan to regain Barry's heart. Oliver is not happy with it * Arrow / Flash. OliverxBarry; Lightweight BarryxIris *





	Iris` plan

Was a kid!

Shr was so happy that she was sure that smile would not be erased by anyone.

Since they knew about the pregnancy they had not wanted to know about the sex of the baby, everyone in the family had decided that it would be a surprise and everything turned out to be a healthy and strong male!

Little Wallace, or Wally as Joe had put him as soon as he saw the child in his little white crib in the maternity hospital, would be all spoiled by being the first baby in the family. And Iris, like her self-proclaimed favorite aunt, was not going to be left behind.

As soon as he could leave his cousins with little Wally in his apartment in Central City, he rode his car to the cafeteria where Barry would be, which according to the time on his cell phone and how he knew the chestnut tree, he should have gone to take something in his 15-minute break. She was one hundred percent sure that her best friend would help her without hesitation. After all, Barry had an excellent relationship with Rod and Mary, and would be more than happy to help in any way he could. It can even be until the sprinter himself considers himself Wally's favorite uncle.

Iris smiles as she parks her car and walks the few steps to the cafeteria,  _where old memories invade her but decides to set them aside for her own good_  , and notices when entering that, to her surprise, there is Barry and a man she had never seen. Large and threatening appearance, beard grown several days but perfectly neat and golden hair almost shaved. Gray eyes, tall and somewhat uniform back, in his opinion.

Her heart skips two beats, but try to remain calm. She is not used to seeing Barry with strangers, the last time the experience did not go too well. Not for Barry or anyone.

The brunette hesitates to approach. That older man, no more than 50 years old, intimidates him even when he has not even approached the subject. There is something in him that makes her nervous, tell her sixth sense of woman, but she feels it. It is in the air, invisible to anyone, but this one. Discard any escape plan to see them laugh friendly and ends up being convinced alone before the pleasant environment that surrounds them alone.

Barry does not seem to fake any smile, nor does his body. So he decides to trust his best friend and ends up walking the little stretch that separates them.

The new subject is the one who notices his presence first, even though he lacked five steps to be by his side.

" Iris! You arrive early ."Barry receives it when detected, and if there is nervousness in her voice, she does not notice it.

" Yes, I was looking for your help but if you are busy ." the reporter was saying, while looking at her doubtful companion.

"Do not worry, miss, after all I was already leaving. I had plans and I did not think my talk with Barry was going to take so long, "says the man in a raspy voice, as he raises his hand towards her to greet her." Carter Hall, a pleasure.

"Iris West," Shee replies with a smile, accepting the wave of his hands. And yes, man's hands almost completely cover her." Is he new in the city? Well, I swear I would not have seen it before. Are you friends with Barry? He did not tell me about you, either, "Iris says, not realizing how her questions seem to be going around the bush. It's the nervousness talking for her, really.

"Iris, enough. "the sprinter stops with some embarrassment. "Excuse her, Carter. She is that meddlesome and chismo ... Auch!"

Barry complains as he raises his right hand to rub the hard blow on the head he received from the brunette. It does not hurt like he is making it look, but neither Carter nor Iris say anything for which the chestnut only continues with his theater.

The man, Carter Hall, Iris will try not to forget that name, laughs amused at the occurrences of the sprinter. It is a sincere and fresh laugh, making the male cheeks rise like cheeks under closed eyes and maybe, just maybe, the reporter does not seem so threatening or so evil. Obviously you will not trust yourself, then you can judge him over time. She will try to keep it under a magnifying glass, then she will decide if that subject is good for Barry or not.

Carter gets up from the high bench on the counter and takes the hand of the chestnut in greeting, then supporting the other on his hands joined with love completely covering the right hand of Barry, making him look small in comparison.

"I'm leaving, I hope to see you soon, Barry. We still have issues to deal with, but this is not the time yet."

Flash's alter ego nods.

"Yes, take care, Carter," Barry wishes, to which his friend smiles and turns to see Iris.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss West."

"The same is true ..." she replies, trying not to let her voice give her away.

Carter Hall looks at both of them, smiles and simply turns on himself and leaves, disappearing between the exit door.

Iris suddenly releases the air she was holding in her lungs and drops into the same seat that the subject had been using before she arrived and interrupted her talk with Barry.

She wants to ask, to know who Carter Hall was and why he had appeared in Central City overnight, behaving with Barry as if they had been best friends for years. She wanted to know where he had come from and why, if he was a meta-human looking for help or a new police officer. She wanted to know what Barry had to do with everything or if he simply did not know anything, she wanted to know what he thought of that fearsome, apparently, man.

But she would not, for now, she would not ask. He would shut up and leave his doubts alone for her, and in case the opportunity arose, his father. Because she knew that she would not have the answers so easily, not coming directly from Barry. First he had to feel the ground, to enter into conversation without his friend noticing. Only then would he find the answers he sought.

So, pretending that the subject did not influence anything in it, Iris smiles carelessly; thinking about Wally and his real reason for being there in front of the chestnut tree that avoids his gaze by becoming innocent. Oh, poor Allen. She knew him better than anyone, but she was not going to make fun of him, she just let him be.

" I was looking for you ." Said the woman to break the ice.

"To me?"

" Yes, you will see. We have a mission ... "she says putting drama in his voice. Barry is surprised, perhaps because he did not ask about Mr. Hall, maybe because of the curious mysterious aura that surrounds her, he does not really know. "Listen, Wally is our nephew, right?. " Subjects emphasizing the  _"ours"_  making Barry blush. " So, like your favorite uncles, in our duty to welcome the family you deserve, for which, I want you to help me find that perfect gift for him . I have not thought about it yet, maybe a little surprise party would not hurt. What do you say? Will you help me?"

Barry's smile can not be bigger nor his eyes seem brighter, the emotion is noticeable and Iris feels her heart take several jumps. Feel the need to approach her to hug him and steal a sweet kiss, but she resists.

_It's not the moment yet._

""We are the best uncles that may have existed ... " Barry laughing.

And with that, she knows that Barry has accepted.

* * *

 

Barry, the same Flash, hero of Central City, is in love and it is not she who owns his heart.

Although Iris does not believe that her best friend is truly in love with that  _woman._ Maybe he's just confused, maybe he loves her, but he's definitely not in love. He could not completely forget what he had ever felt for her. That is not forgotten overnight, although, from what her father had told her, this had been going on for a long time and incredibly, she never took it for granted.

How had sge known her? Where? When?

They were questions that were asked very often.

Well, Iris really wanted to meet the woman who had managed to make Barry fall in love. She wanted to know what it was like and what it was that captivated the sprinter. She wanted to see the woman in person who took Barry's heart out of her hands.

Ask him why he had done it and demand that he return it.

Iris could not allow it, it was assumed that his friend only had that kind of feelings for her and for anyone else. She was not going to let anyone else snatch them. Because no one was worthy of them, only she who had been by his side at all times. Caring for him when he is orphaned by a mother and separated from his father by a crime he did not commit, always being his support and protection. Taking care of bullying and teaching him to defend himself, to be strong and not let anything or anyone destroy him. Be better, for him and for those who were still at his side.

She had been his support and yet another woman had come to take away the place that was rightfully his.

The worst part of the matter was that her father knew her and had not released a word to reveal her name or who she was. Where it had come from or if it was at least from the city.

Barry's last girlfriend, Linda, had managed to carve a niche between Joe's affections, much to her daughter's disgrace. But the girl had not been able to endure what was the life of the chestnut tree, so she quickly threw in the towel with respect to them and their relationship. And the fact that Barry could overcome it quickly did not mean it had not hurt.

Yes, it had been hard, but Iris was secretly grateful. Well, again Barry Allen was just his.

Selfish? Maybe, but he did not care. Only she could make Barry happy.

So she did not worry too much about his new competition. She was 100 percent sure that her friend just loved her, now he was just confused and maybe hurt by his old relationship with Eddie, may he rest in peace wherever he was.

The only thing that really surprised him was the fact that every time he asked about the  _woman_  Barry was in love with, Joe seemed to hold back the laughter, often not succeeding.

* * *

 

Iris tries to get used to it.

To the blows and the blood, to a lesser extent, that spills in the Arrow Cave -  _or Refuge, according to Barry-_  during what they call "weekly training". Although in his eyes it was more a pitched battle in the middle of the war, Team Arrow and the Company of The Flash saw it as normal in the world. The brunette knows she must get used to it, she belongs to the Company !, but that does not prevent her from worrying every time a green arrow is painfully embedded in Barry's back.

Lyla, Diggle's wife, always squeezes her hand a little to relax her. And Iris is grateful, the woman was charming and they got along great. It was she who included it in the group of heroes. Despite having already had contact with Caitlin and Cisco since a long time before, he had never taken the necessary time before to meet them; much less to Felicity who in the past had believed her a potential rival in love. Now she is sure that the blonde only has eyes for her boss. Therefore, there was nothing to fear.

"Aaah! ..."

Barry yells again and Iris feels her chest contract. Was that strictly necessary? She can not help but look at Oliver for being so blunt and cruel to Flash, and she can swear by the Pop`Tarts that she and her father love, that she sees concern in her eyes for a few seconds before her best friend can take off her arrow that had embedded itself in his ribs.

"Easy, Oliver would never hurt Barry, not intentionally," Lyla says quietly as they both see Barry get rid of the arrows and heal at incredible speed.

Flash throws away the arrow with blood and runs towards Arrow leaving behind a red wake that vanishes almost instantly, knocks down his partner throwing him from the platform on which he was holding and knocks him upside down with some rudeness. The thud knocks Caitlin and Cisco from the computers, but they quickly ignore them. Diggle smiles proudly at the progress of the chestnut tree.

Barry was on Oliver, sitting on his stomach and placing his hands on the blond's chest giving support. The sprinter's smile is sly and his eyes mischievous, Iris is sure that that look hid something more, but quickly discards it. Although he admitted that he had never seen that look on him, it was new to see how his eyes shone with unhealthy mischief, and he liked it.

"  I` Il win you "victory Barry.

Oliver smiles back at her and Iris gets upset. Was not he going to congratulate him? He was supposed to do it, after all it was the same goalkeeper who incited the sprinter to that unconventional training class.

"He had not taught you not to sing your victory before time, brat?"

Arrow throws Flash out of himself, grabs him by the neck in a kind of strange key and leans back, making it difficult for Barry to breathe. The chestnut does not use his powers, he never does it when fighting body to body with the blond. He never uses his powers to take advantage, he does not cheat and he lets himself be damaged as if it were a simple game.

The fight would have followed between milestones, arrows and blows at great human speed if not for the intervention of Diggle. Who stands before them in an imposing way, with arms crossed and chin up. Barry does not look him in the eyes, as if he were a scolded child, Oliver, instead, just smiles showing all his funny and haughty teeth. John scolds them, making them change their training.

Iris can not be more grateful with that, and thirty minutes ago she had wanted to get the attention of her best friend without having anything, she was not so crazy as to approach that couple of insane who fought with rudeness but also enjoying a confidence that even Lyla had whispered that she was surprised by the chemistry of Oliver and Barry. The reporter of Pictures News gave faith in it, because if there was friendship and trust between the heroes of Starling City and Central City, that calls for the alliance and the peace of the inhabitants. He could not say much about Gotham or Metropolis, that was, by far, out of his reason.

The woman stands up, crossing her arms haughtily and smiles feline as she fixes her gaze on Barry, the reaction she wanted was not long in coming. Quickly Flash puts his eyes on her and shrinks men, intimidated by her best friend.

" We must have left long ago, Barry. You promised, "Iris reminds him.

The hero in red closes his eyes and clenches his jaw, repentant.

"I'm sorry, Iris, really. Time flies inside a cave," says the brunette trying to be funny, getting it in parts.

Barry runs on himself, generating a vortex of reddish lightning. Suddenly he stops already being in his casual attire. Iris smiles, but Oliver does not. The brunette observes him, he seems curious and somewhat annoying; She does not understand the reason. It is true that I was interrupting a training in which she had no place, but to take away some time was not going to be the end of the world either.

"You did not tell me you had plans," Oliver reproaches, taking off the hood that made up his Arrow suit.

"I'm sorry, I forgot," Barry replies, smiling sweetly.

Oliver was going to reproach him, he knew. That's why he does not hesitate to go to his friend and take him from the chest in an intimate embrace, resting his cheek on his left shoulder and letting his breath hit Barry in the throat. If Iris feels her shudder, she does not hide her satisfaction, she knows that her face and the smile that does not hide her shows it.

"Don't bother, Mr. Queen. Our next appointment will be outside the training schedule ..."

Iris clearly hears a breath of surprise, and if that act leaves her curious, much more is left by the cold, hard expression that Oliver Queen sends her from a prudent distance. Feel Barry tense and try to move away subtly, but she does not give an arm to twist.

" E .. It's .. uh ... "-the chestnut stutters and the reporter does not understand her nervousness or because now her friend seems to sweat cold. "It's a date to go shopping, nothing more. The surprise party for Wally" Clarifies Barry.

And Iris does not understand why he does it.

* * *

 

While they both walk through the streets of Breaks in the middle of the afternoon the day after their visit to the Arrow Cave -  _Refuge,_  Iris can not help thinking if she disliked Mr. Queen.

Now that she was thinking and collecting events of the last weeks, there was a certain aggressiveness of the millionaire towards her. He had thought it was only his imagination, his silly ideas. But what happened the previous day only clarified her mind, assuming that Oliver Queen had something against her. But what? Because now she was like that; all bad treatment and being a sharp?

She had never treated him like that when they had barely met and she had insinuated herself into playing games, and then that. He had always been kind and courteous. But now, he had become the target of his mistreatment overnight. In its only target, objective. Well, she had not seen Oliver treat Caitlin or Cisco badly, much less Barry. What's more, Barry is the one who best dealt with all of them.

Something was not right.

Iris stops in front of a baby room where there are pacifiers, mordillos, toys and baby bottles of the most adorable. Barry talks to him about those with blue flowers and something about buns that he does not pay any attention to. The bags with snacks and toys are wobbling from the arms of his best friend while the above tries to point out a stuffed bear bear in Arrow's suit and she can not help but make a disgusted face with her lips.

The store possessed teddy bears of many superheroes. From fictional heroes of the Marvel comics, to the real heroes who had scattered around the world like: Superman, Batman or Green Lantern. And Iris can not help snorting; if his partner let him see more, he would also have his action figures and would be adored by young children, he knew. But Barry did not want that, the fame or the glory he brought with him. The chestnut seemed more interested in the Mets games than being truly recognized. And that only made me love him a little more.

Iris saw her friend smile and enter the toy store, she did not follow him, being more focused on her thoughts than on her surroundings in general. Even so, he did not lose sight of it either. From the window she could see how Allen finally bought a teddy bear disguised as Arrow, and she could not help but snort at the irony of it all.

_Karma?_

Barry came out with the gift in hand without losing the smile yet.

"Arrow, really? " the woman asks, resuming her way to her car to take Wally's gifts to her father's house. . " You could have chosen Superman, Barry. I think it would be a better hero and example for our nephew ... No offense to your partner."

" Oliver is perfect, Iris. You'll see how Wally would end up worshiping him too, "Barry says in such a convinced way.

That she can not help thinking that maybe that's true.

* * *

 

When the question leaves her lips, the silence in the Arrow Cave is too obvious.

His question had been simple: Did they know the woman Barry Allen was in love with or not?

The most obvious of them all had been Caitlin, with her mouth open in a perfect "o", fearful eyes not wanting to see her directly and pulse wobbly. Lyla and Diggle did not even deign to look at her, making her think they were focused on the paperwork of Oliver's company. Cisco whistled a song that he only knew and returned to his computer, without paying more attention. Instead, Roy and Ronnie smile with grace and mockery that they exhaust their patience. It's as if in his face they shouted: I know  _something that you do not._

" Iwant to know who she is " Iris expects, but nobody responds to him or ignores him.

Nobody answers.

* * *

 

The garlands with brightly colored payacitos patterns and the blue and red balloons had been Joe's idea, using the man's house had been his daughter's idea, claiming, and with good reason, that the house was big enough to that his cousins and little Wally were comfortable in the surprise party.

"  _Barry's apartment is always messy and uninhabitable, besides being very small, and until I repair the water leaks in mine, I will not be able to receive visitors, so by unanimous vote, we'll use your house, dad."_

Joe had not put many buts against her, to his surprise. The only condition had been that they should then clean up what was dirty even when they had not been the cause, in addition, they should not use the meta-human powers as an advantage. Iris and Barry were fine with it, so they quickly set to work.

She decorated the ceiling with the garlands up the ladder that the neighbor had lent them very nicely and the chestnut inflating the balloons, playing with them from time to time making them bounce from one side to another in the room illuminated by the midday sun. The atmosphere was fun and entertaining, as if they had returned to be best friends before Barry was in a coma and Iris began a relationship with Eddie. The radio sounded soft in the background, making his day as normal as he could have enjoyed so far.

Not meta-human lunatics. No world in danger. No Company The Flash, no Team Arrow. And above all, not the other woman.

Only them, between colored balloons and an Adele song playing in the background.

It was perfect.

"Hey, Iris ..." Barry's voice said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She turned to see him for a second, then went back to her job of hanging the stiff paper with blue ribbons. The task, for someone like her who was not at all accustomed to that type of work of decorating the house, because it had always been the work of her father and Barry, was a titanic task and in itself very difficult.

"Mmmh ..." she said in response, making the little sound almost dim in the inside of his throat.

"You believe ..." Barry stopped, leaving a few seconds of silence. "Do you think it would be okay if I bring someone with me?" asked ashamed." At the party, I say "

Iris had left her hands still for seconds, surprised by the question, but quickly went back to her work. Appearing a tranquility that did not possess.  She knew he would ask, she did not miss either. She had used a similar moment in the family to present Eddie as her partner, Barry was not going to be any different.

"A girlfriend? " Iris ask, trying to sound mischievous.

" Do not!"

" For real? In that case, it's fine if you want to come with a company."

The reporter turned her eyes to her friend and gave her a smile that was pleasantly back.

" Thank you, you're the best, Iris."

" Tknow, darling, I know."

* * *

 

The party would be in a few hours and if Barry did not appear in front of her to continue with the plans that had cost them so much to make everything perfect, Iris could swear that he would destroy that damn laboratory piece by piece. Then, take your stupid-but-charming-best-friend and take him to stops to his father's house.

The chestnut had asked him, that morning while he was working as a superhero in the city with his father, if he could leave for the rest of the day to train on STAR with his team. Of course Iris did not refuse, after the events of last week where she had interrupted the training of the heroes to take the boy with her, she knew that Barry should make up for the lost time. More to please Oliver than to really want to overcome, in itself, his great skills. Obviously Iris had given her an ultimatum and an hour to get together so she would not be late for her engagement, but Barry had not shown up and had not followed her order to show up at Joe's house at 7:00 pm to check everything was up. being in order As she wanted me to be.

She was furious!

That was supposed to be her night, a special who had been planning all this time that they had been working together at the surprise party for Wally,  _his nephew,_ of the two. The night she would finally tell Barry, in the backyard, away from the guests and their relatives, all she felt for him. Of how much she loved him, of her longing to have him with her. This would be the night they would kiss for the first time, under a beautiful blanket of autumn stars only so that Barry, with his sweetest and most romantic side, would remember him at every special moment of their lives.

Today would be her night, the one where they would finally be a couple, boyfriends.

She did not care about the other woman. If the  _other_  was important for the chestnut tree, She would have mentioned it or presented it to her, but it was not like that. Because Barry was not sure he wanted her, because the other woman was just a replacement for his old and true love.

Iris smiled at her thoughts. Knowing yourself as the only owner of Barry's heart.

The woman crossed a corridor, then another and another. Trying not to try to meet Cisco or Caitlin, than to see her there, most likely they would throw her out with a pathetic excuse. They always did it and it gave her a lot of courage. That's why she preferred to avoid them and thus not make a stupid stir.

After a few minutes, Iris arrived at the dressing room. The one that had been built after Joe asked Barry, with his puppy eyes and father's voice, to stop using his powers for every moment of his life: grooming, breakfast and even dressing. And as a good boy Allen was, he obeyed. Of course they did not expect Flash to be a shameful young man on his body, so in a short time they had prepared a dressing room in which Barry could be comfortable and where only she, Joe, Cisco and Caitlin had access.

The brunette would have continued in her thoughts, where Barry was an adorable boy that she wanted to be able to embrace even without clothes in between, but for a tiny noise that caught her completely; a choked voice that cut the thread of her thoughts bringing her back to the real world.

She stopped halfway immediately, paying full attention to what she heard.

" Is it "

Iris walked to short steps, approaching the room continued where it was. As the distance became shorter, step by step, the sounds gradually increased in volume, yet they were too low to draw a hasty conclusion.

A sound rose higher than the others, paralyzing it in its place. Was it that, a moan? Iris wanted to believe that no, because where they came from was Barry's exclusive wardrobe ... So it was impossible for anyone else to be there. Nobody had access to the fate had the authorization of the Flash itself, and he did not give it to anyone and either because. Barry was someone very selective for what his private space entailed.

Another noise,  _moan,_  was heard again, bouncing her heart in an almost painful race.

She was not imagining things. That knew very well what it was, was not stupid to not notice when it had been more than clear the owner of that voice in the room.

"Barry ..." Iris whisper softly, holding a hand to her chest.

Barry, his childhood best friend, was in the room with someone else and he did not even believe that to play Scrabble. The masculine moans confirmed it.

 Iris knew that Barry was not a saint at all, he had had girlfriends, few,  _very few_  , but he had had them. They, or some, had stayed in the chestnut apartment when he began to live alone. But one thing was to imagine what Barry did in the privacy of his home to know in person and in direct of his sexual activity.

A quick idea hit her, like a revelation. Was he with the woman there? Instead anyone could see them, where they could be discovered by any curious who heard them in flagrante.  _Just like her._

Iris held her breath, holding the air in her lungs that demanded that she expel him in small bites to release the tension in her body. But the last thing she thought was in her demanding lungs. Do not.

What she wanted, what she most wanted, was to peek through that open door and see Barry's partner for the first time.

What was not wrong?

Maybe. It was a private moment for the couple after all.

Did she care about that?

Not really. After all, that woman had arrived without being called into their lives and Iris had every right to see her. To know, finally, her face. Of knowing how it really was and not just having a distorted image in her mind.

Having the courage and with the heart in a fist, Iris with her strength and looked, slowly and slowly, through the door, having visions in part of the room until you find the only people who were in it.

And the air, the little he had managed to hold in his lungs, left him completely. He felt that everything was spinning, the dizziness forced him to hold just the hinges of the door frame of the locker room and had to take the other hand to his mouth to cover any sound that could come out of it.

Iris could not believe what she was watching. She really could never have imagined it.

Because the person who was there, kissing and making Barry moan with pleasure under his breath, was nothing more or nothing less than the archer: Oliver Queen.

Both standing in front of the locker where the chestnut kept his clothes and other personal items left in the laboratories for any occasion.

Barry was turning his back on her, the one who was naked because the child had no shirt to cover him. She only wore her half-put jeans because even barefoot she was, the shoes she had chosen herself were on the side being totally ignored. Oliver, who had his head sunk in the neck of the sprinter, was hardly in better condition, because his clothes were even slightly misplaced.

Oliver's large, calloused hands were walking around Barry's body without brazenness, caressing his hips until they rested on the back of the chestnut tree where he squeezed another delicious moan. The coroner did not sit still. He moved his hands under his lover's clothes and from time to time kissed the skin that was within his reach, making the millionaire growl.

Both caressed each other. Both played without cover. They both marked each other, Iris made that clear to me.

Especially when Mr. Queen opened his eyes and stared at her, scaring her and forcing her to take a step back.

His blue eyes, cold as every time they looked at her, shouted a silent warning. One that she could not stop ignoring or letting it pass, because she was there. Because Oliver Queen is the one who was sending it to him through that act in the STAR Laboratories

_Barry is mine._

And before that, before the warning of Oliver as well as his discovery, was that Iris finally fled. Completing a task that he did not even know he was carrying out.

The one of discovering, finally, the truth.

* * *

 

There was never another woman.

There was never the one that snatched what, for a long time, felt like his. As there was no such fight to know who stayed at the end with the precious heart of Barry. To see who was worthy of that love.

Because that other woman never existed. There was never a  _her._

All this time he was fighting, watching over a man. All this time she hated a s _he,_ Oliver Queen.

Now she understood everything.

Because Oliver spent more time than required in the STAR Lab even though he did not contribute too much in the facilities. Because Barry remained constantly in Starling City, even though there was no threat that required his presence there. Because it was not just Barry with Oliver, or Oliver with Barry, but Oliver  _and_  Barry.

Of course now it was more than obvious.

Because the heroes, the partners that were said to be, were a couple. They were together, as boyfriends. Since she did not believe that Barry lent herself to just being a lover more in the playboy list of Oliver Queen.

In addition, he had seen how the archer celaba, on more than one occasion, his best friend. So the sprinter's feelings were reciprocal. Something that relieved him inside. Yes, now that she saw it and knew the truth, she could feel happy for Barry. He more than anyone deserved someone at his side to love him. Let him take care of him as the most precious treasure.

Her feelings for her best friend had not changed at all, after all she was still the woman Barry loved the most. Now, on the other hand, maybe he was just sharing the first place with Oliver Queen. Who would say it!

Iris smiles.

Because he's happy for Barry. Because he deserves more than just her jealousy and anger, he needs acceptance. She needs to know that despite everything and everyone, she will always be by his side no matter what.

Because although they did not have that ending that she would have liked, it has the perfect ending to the chestnut tree that always supports her in every decision of her life.

Iris hears her cousin's exaggerated laugh, loud and high, forcing her to look again at the room. His family passing it perfectly in Wally's welcome, that gives him a sincere smile.

The resentful thoughts take it to walk his glance being with the  _surprise_  guest of Barry.

He knows that he has no right. She knows that it is not for her to go to Oliver, but she does as well. Walk to safe steps to the Starling City watchman who does not hesitate to stare cold, always cold, in his person. Waiting as if at any moment to jump the jugular. She do not lack to do so, but keepher cool, it would not please the man.

" If you hurt him " she says in a low voice, in that way so soft that it would bristle the hairs to anyone. " I will become your worst nightmare. Believe me, I know how to destroy you without the need to use a weapon."

Oliver does not smile or say anything biting to silence her. Not as he had thought he would, as he had been doing lately.  _And now I understood why._ Accept what has been indicated and keep an oath silent. Promising him only with the look that took care of his word, as well as taking care of Barry.

Iris nods and smiles, almost in a sincere way. He moves away from Oliver to take a seat next to Mary and to take in his arms Wally, who was still too small to understand the funny looks that Joe gave him behind him.

Barry, appearing from the kitchen, sits next to the millionaire and smiles about a badly told joke that a relative, does not know which of them was, loose. The hand of his friend, subtle and without anyone else can see it, slides by Mr. Queen's. Who corresponds in the same way.

And for the first time, after many months, when his eyes meet by chance in the middle of the night with Oliver's, it becomes friendly. There was no coldness, there was no harshness.

There was a feeling of familiarity.

And Iris was fine with it. Alone and when that made Barry happy

 


End file.
